Micheál and Leo face Dáil grilling
Watchdog wants to know how we are going to pay for Covid... and who faces cuts
A GRILLING in the Dáil over how the Government plans to get Ireland going again after the lockdown awaits the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Finance Minister.
The Oireachtas Finance Committee is planning to call in Micheál Martin, Leo Varadkar and Paschal Donohoe as part of a major investigation into how the Coalition plans to reopen the economy.
Chairman John McGuinness said: ‘We need to look ahead. We are in mid-coronavirus crisis now. The time to see how recovery after coronavirus does not turn into recession must begin now. We need to see an assessment of the damage done to the economy and how we might deal and prepare for a return.
‘The economy is like Sleeping Beauty but what happens when it wakes up? We need to know. It is time for some foresight rather than the usual hindsight,’ he said.
‘We need to look ahead now and prepare’
Other ministers to be questioned include Michael McGrath, Darragh O’Brien, Stephen Donnelly, Heather Humphreys and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan.
Mr McGuinness said: ‘All these ministries are engaging in record levels of expenditure. We are keen to discover the sustainability of this and whose benefits are currently planned to be cut first if there is a retrenchment.’ He also said that top mandarins such as Martin Fraser, Robert Watt, if he secures the Health post – and the ‘mandarin masters’ of Finance, Enterprise, Environment and Social Protection – will be ‘quizzed’.
There is, Mr McGuinness said, a ‘great deal of interest in Eamon Ryan’s Just Transition plans and how that might be funded’.
He was reluctant to mention any other potential invitees, noting that committee members would have to be consulted.
It is believed the views of Sinn Féin will carry particular weight in terms of how the committee structures its inquiries.
One source said: ‘There is a very warm, very collegiate relationship between McGuinness and Pearse Doherty. There will be no gazumping there.’ They added that it will be ‘an interesting case study in the capacity of Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin to co-operate’.
However, Mr McGuinness did say: ‘When it comes to witnesses, we are going to eschew the usual suspects from the banks and the ESRI and all that. We intend to take a leftfield view. The dismal prophets of austerity will get little time here. We intend to talk to the people not panjandrums.
‘We will be prioritising witnesses from community groups. We intend to be as inclusive as possible and to deal with real issues, such as how will childcare and housing be provided, how will the Government plan to decentralise, all that.’
He said that the economy ‘has experienced a similar shock to that experienced by a country after a war’, adding: ‘The Government must now unveil our Marshall plan.’
The investigation comes against a backdrop of growing concern over the enormous level of taxpayer support for the economy.
Currently, this totals more than a billion euro a month, with the Government spending almost €88bn, and another €5.4bn being allocated to contingency and recovery funds.
These funds are being put to use now to sustain schemes such as the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP), the wage subsidy scheme, restrictions support schemes and now the new Business Aid Scheme.
Sources have revealed that there has been a sharp increase in the weekly cost of PUP.
A spokesman from the Department of Public Expenditure said: ‘The current weekly cost of PUP is €138m compared to the December peak of €104m.’
The Government is now fighting on two fronts, with concerns on the tax side being centred on a ‘substantial’ expected reduction in VAT receipts.
However, as VAT is paid with a two-month lag, the impact of Level 5 restrictions will not be known until receipts have been received.
The spokesman said: ‘In framing Budget 2021 the Government set aside €5.5bn in a Recovery Fund and Contingency Reserve to ensure sufficient resources are available to meet the additional costs associated with the pandemic and to underpin economic recovery when we are in a position to ease restrictions.’